The Japanese government, lead by Prime Minister Abe, have been pushing for increased export of made in Japan defense systems for the past year. Reuters is reporting that United Kingdom is being offered the Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Kawasaki P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA).

The United States have also been pitching the Boeing P-8 Poseidon and the Lockheed Martin SC-130J Sea Hercules MPAs.

The Nimrod MRA4 programme was cancelled in 2010 as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Reviewand British forces are left no direct MPA replacement since. In November 2014 a submarine was detected off the coast of Scotland and Britain requested MPAs from France, Canada and the US to conduct patrols, in conjunction with Royal Navy surface warships.

The P-1s, designed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. in cooperation with the Japanese Defense Ministry, will replace over 80 aging P-3 Orion MPAs used by the JMSDF. The new planes should start being deployed on patrol duties this year following two years of flight testing. The P-1 development started in 2001 and planed to finish in March 2012. The process was delayed for one year due to cracks found in its wings and bodies.

During the official delivery ceremony held in 2013, an official declared that the JMSDF expressed a need fo a total of 70 P-1s.

The Japanese government, lead by Prime Minister Abe, have been pushing for increased export of made in Japan defense systems for the past year. Reuters is reporting that United Kingdom is being offered the Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Kawasaki P-1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA).

As the successor to the P-3C, the P-1 is used for prolonged, extensive patrols in the sea areas surrounding Japan. The P-1 is a totally new aircraft that was developed and manufactured domestically, including the airframe, the engines and the patrol systems. According to the JMSDF, with its latest technologies, the P-1 flies faster and has a greater range and useful load than the P-3C, enabling it to patrol the extensive sea areas surrounding Japan for many hours.

It is the first aircraft in the world fitted with fiber-optics flight controls. Their main strength is that they reduce the risk of electromagnetic interference. ASW (anti-submarine warfare) is assisted by an artificial intelligence. The P-1 is fitted with a Toshiba HPS-106 AESA radar with 360 degree coverage,a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) at the back, and Infrared/Light detection systems.

It has a bomb bay and 8 hardpoints, allowing it to take nearly 9 tons of payloads, including nearly 100 sonobuoys. Its crew consists of a pilot, a co-pilot and 11 operators.